Pakistan to Become Self Sufficient in Radial Tyres in 2025

Two big investments by foreign investors have put Pakistan on the verge of becoming self-sufficient in car (PCR), truck, and bus radial (TBR) tyres.

The process started with Servis LongMarch initiating 800,000 tyres per annum factory in 2022.  This factory has already doubled its capacity to 1.6m tyres, and has announced another expansion to take it to 2.2m tyres capacity.

Additionally, it is rumored that Servis LongMarch has signed another JV for a 3m tyre per year PCR factory. This will bring Servis LongMarch investment in radial tyres to cross $300m by end of next year.

The new player in the game is Armstrong FZE, a project of Zafco Group from UAE. The Armstrong factory, which will produce 3m PCR tyres and 600,000 TBR tyres, is already under construction in Gharo. It is likely to come into production by the end of 2024.

Pakistan’s PCR market demand is only 6m tyres. With GTR already producing 2m PCR per year, with the entry of Armstrong and Servis LongMarch, Pakistan’s installed capacity will be 8m tyres. This will create an exportable surplus of 2m tyres per year.

Similarly, the TBR market’s annual demand is 1.6m tyres. Servis LongMarch and Armstrong will have an installed capacity of 2.8m, creating an export surplus of 1.2m tyres.

Servis LongMarch is already Pakistan’s leading export company. In the coming year, it appears that Pakistan could have zero imports in the tyre category- saving foreign exchange to the tune of $500m and having exports of over $200m dollars.